Computerized system and method for automatically sharing device pairing credentials across multiple devices

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems and methods for improving interactions with and between computers in content searching, generating, hosting and/or providing systems supported by or configured with personal computing devices, servers and/or platforms. The systems interact to identify and retrieve data within or across platforms, which can be used to improve the quality of data used in processing interactions between or among processors in such systems. The disclosed systems and methods automatically pair and unpair hardware devices that are logged into a single account. Once a user logs into their profile associated with an online account, the disclosed systems and methods perform the novel, computerized steps of auto-pairing any or all of the other devices that are also logged into the account. The disclosed systems and methods allow any number of devices to be automatically paired or unpaired through shared password-less credentials associated with a single profile.

This patent application claims the benefit of and is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/373,373, filed on Dec. 8, 2016,titled “Computerized System And Method For Automatically Sharing DevicePairing Credentials Across Multiple Devices”, which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

This application includes material that is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in thePatent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves allcopyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to improving the performance ofcontent searching, generating, providing and/or hosting computerdevices, systems and/or platforms by modifying the capabilities andproviding non-native functionality to such devices, systems and/orplatforms for a novel and improved framework for automatically sharingpeer-to-peer device pairing credentials across multiple devices.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods providea computerized framework for automatically pairing and unpairinghardware devices that are logged into a user's account. The disclosedsystems and methods provide hardware devices with the novel, automatedfunctionality of pairing, or connecting, with another device when suchdevices are logged into the same authenticated user account.

As discussed in more detail below, once a user logs into their profileassociated with an online account (e.g., Yahoo! ® account), thedisclosed systems and methods perform the novel, computerized steps ofautomatically connecting, referred to as “auto-pairing,” any or all ofthe other devices that are also logged into the profile or account. Thedisclosed systems and methods allow any number of devices to beautomatically paired through shared password-less credentials associatedwith a single profile; therefore, a plurality of associated orperipheral devices can be connected without the explicit, cumbersomesteps of having the user and/or device logging in to the account and/orgo through the subsequent pairing process.

There are currently myriad peer-to-peer sharing systems. For example,“pairing” exists in many device-peripheral technologies, e.g.,Bluetooth®. However, there is no current system or process that enablesor performs automated connectivity of multiple devices to peripheraldevices, or the sharing of credentials that enables such automatedpairing to occur.

Accordingly, in one or more embodiments, a method is disclosed for anovel and improved framework for automatically sharing peer-to-peerdevice pairing credentials across multiple devices thereby enabling suchdevices to automatically pair and/or unpair without additional user ordevice input. The disclosed systems and methods provide a novel andimproved manner of accomplishing secure peer-to-peer pairing acrossmultiple devices attached to or associated with a single account. Asevidenced from the disclosure herein, the disclosed systems and methodsbuild on existing secure peer-to-peer authentication techniques, andextend their functionality to make a more seamless user experience. Insituations (becoming more common) where users have more than one device,or want to more easily share authentication in group or family settings,the disclosed systems and methods simplify the management of pairingdevices to peripherals (and revoking of paired devices).

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium is provided, the non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium tangibly storing thereon, or havingtangibly encoded thereon, computer readable instructions that whenexecuted cause at least one processor to perform a method for a noveland improved framework for automatically sharing peer-to-peer devicepairing credentials across multiple devices.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a system is provided thatcomprises one or more computing devices configured to providefunctionality in accordance with such embodiments. In accordance withone or more embodiments, functionality is embodied in steps of a methodperformed by at least one computing device. In accordance with one ormore embodiments, program code (or program logic) executed by aprocessor(s) of a computing device to implement functionality inaccordance with one or more such embodiments is embodied in, by and/oron a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from the following description ofembodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichreference characters refer to the same parts throughout the variousviews. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead beingplaced upon illustrating principles of the disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a networkwithin which the systems and methods disclosed herein could beimplemented according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of clientdevice in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating components of anexemplary system in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps performed in accordance withsome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a non-limiting example embodiment of devicecredential sharing functionality in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a non-limiting example embodiment of devicecredential sharing functionality in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a non-limiting example embodiment of devicecredential sharing functionality in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a non-limiting example embodiment of devicecredential sharing functionality in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the architecture of an exemplaryhardware device in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, certain example embodiments. Subjectmatter may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and,therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construedas not being limited to any example embodiments set forth herein;example embodiments are provided merely to be illustrative. Likewise, areasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matter isintended. Among other things, for example, subject matter may beembodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly,embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software,firmware or any combination thereof (other than software per se). Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be takenin a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in anotherembodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a differentembodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matterinclude combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage incontext. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as usedherein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least inpart upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” ifused to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B,and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here usedin the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as usedherein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describeany feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may beused to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristicsin a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” again,may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a pluralusage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term“based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey anexclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence ofadditional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, dependingat least in part on context.

The present disclosure is described below with reference to blockdiagrams and operational illustrations of methods and devices. It isunderstood that each block of the block diagrams or operationalillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams oroperational illustrations, can be implemented by means of analog ordigital hardware and computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer to alter its function as detailed herein, a special purposecomputer, ASIC, or other programmable data processing apparatus, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, implement thefunctions/acts specified in the block diagrams or operational block orblocks. In some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted inthe blocks can occur out of the order noted in the operationalillustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession can in factbe executed substantially concurrently or the blocks can sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/actsinvolved.

These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of: ageneral purpose computer to alter its function to a special purpose; aspecial purpose computer; ASIC; or other programmable digital dataprocessing apparatus, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagramsor operational block or blocks, thereby transforming their functionalityin accordance with embodiments herein.

For the purposes of this disclosure a computer readable medium (orcomputer-readable storage medium/media) stores computer data, which datacan include computer program code (or computer-executable instructions)that is executable by a computer, in machine readable form. By way ofexample, and not limitation, a computer readable medium may comprisecomputer readable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data,or communication media for transient interpretation of code-containingsignals. Computer readable storage media, as used herein, refers tophysical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includeswithout limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for thetangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data. Computer readablestorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical ormaterial medium which can be used to tangibly store the desiredinformation or data or instructions and which can be accessed by acomputer or processor.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “server” should beunderstood to refer to a service point which provides processing,database, and communication facilities. By way of example, and notlimitation, the term “server” can refer to a single, physical processorwith associated communications and data storage and database facilities,or it can refer to a networked or clustered complex of processors andassociated network and storage devices, as well as operating softwareand one or more database systems and application software that supportthe services provided by the server. Servers may vary widely inconfiguration or capabilities, but generally a server may include one ormore central processing units and memory. A server may also include oneor more mass storage devices, one or more power supplies, one or morewired or wireless network interfaces, one or more input/outputinterfaces, or one or more operating systems, such as Windows Server,Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, or the like.

For the purposes of this disclosure a “network” should be understood torefer to a network that may couple devices so that communications may beexchanged, such as between a server and a client device or other typesof devices, including between wireless devices coupled via a wirelessnetwork, for example. A network may also include mass storage, such asnetwork attached storage (NAS), a storage area network (SAN), or otherforms of computer or machine readable media, for example. A network mayinclude the Internet, one or more local area networks (LANs), one ormore wide area networks (WANs), wire-line type connections, wirelesstype connections, cellular or any combination thereof. Likewise,sub-networks, which may employ differing architectures or may becompliant or compatible with differing protocols, may interoperatewithin a larger network. Various types of devices may, for example, bemade available to provide an interoperable capability for differingarchitectures or protocols. As one illustrative example, a router mayprovide a link between otherwise separate and independent LANs.

A communication link or channel may include, for example, analogtelephone lines, such as a twisted wire pair, a coaxial cable, full orfractional digital lines including T1, T2, T3, or T4 type lines,Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines(DSLs), wireless links including satellite links, or other communicationlinks or channels, such as may be known to those skilled in the art.Furthermore, a computing device or other related electronic devices maybe remotely coupled to a network, such as via a wired or wireless lineor link, for example.

For purposes of this disclosure, a “wireless network” should beunderstood to couple client devices with a network. A wireless networkmay employ stand-alone ad-hoc networks, mesh networks, Wireless LAN(WLAN) networks, cellular networks, or the like. A wireless network mayfurther include a system of terminals, gateways, routers, or the likecoupled by wireless radio links, or the like, which may move freely,randomly or organize themselves arbitrarily, such that network topologymay change, at times even rapidly.

A wireless network may further employ a plurality of network accesstechnologies, including Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), WLAN, WirelessRouter (WR) mesh, or 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation (2G, 3G, 4G or 5G)cellular technology, or the like. Network access technologies may enablewide area coverage for devices, such as client devices with varyingdegrees of mobility, for example.

For example, a network may enable RF or wireless type communication viaone or more network access technologies, such as Global System forMobile communication (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSMEnvironment (EDGE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Bluetooth®, BluetoothLow Energy (BLE), 802.11b/g/n, or the like. A wireless network mayinclude virtually any type of wireless communication mechanism by whichsignals may be communicated between devices, such as a client device ora computing device, between or within a network, or the like.

A computing device may be capable of sending or receiving signals, suchas via a wired or wireless network, or may be capable of processing orstoring signals, such as in memory as physical memory states, and may,therefore, operate as a server. Thus, devices capable of operating as aserver may include, as examples, dedicated rack-mounted servers, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, set top boxes, integrated devices combiningvarious features, such as two or more features of the foregoing devices,or the like. Servers may vary widely in configuration or capabilities,but generally a server may include one or more central processing unitsand memory. A server may also include one or more mass storage devices,one or more power supplies, one or more wired or wireless networkinterfaces, one or more input/output interfaces, or one or moreoperating systems, such as Windows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux,FreeBSD, or the like.

For purposes of this disclosure, a client (or consumer or user) devicemay include a computing device capable of sending or receiving signals,such as via a wired or a wireless network. A client device may, forexample, include a desktop computer or a portable device, such as acellular telephone, a smart phone, a display pager, a radio frequency(RF) device, an infrared (IR) device an Near Field Communication (NFC)device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, atablet computer, a phablet, a laptop computer, a set top box, a wearablecomputer, smart watch, an integrated or distributed device combiningvarious features, such as features of the forgoing devices, or the like.

A client device may vary in terms of capabilities or features. Claimedsubject matter is intended to cover a wide range of potentialvariations. For example, a simple smart phone, phablet or tablet mayinclude a numeric keypad or a display of limited functionality, such asa monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying text. Incontrast, however, as another example, a web-enabled client device mayinclude a high-resolution screen, one or more physical or virtualkeyboards, mass storage, one or more accelerometers, one or moregyroscopes, global positioning system (GPS) or otherlocation-identifying type capability, or a display with a high degree offunctionality, such as a touch-sensitive color 2D or 3D display, forexample.

A client device may include or may execute a variety of operatingsystems, including a personal computer operating system, such as aWindows, iOS or Linux, or a mobile operating system, such as iOS,Android, or Windows Mobile, or the like.

A client device may include or may execute a variety of possibleapplications, such as a client software application enablingcommunication with other devices, such as communicating one or moremessages, such as via email, for example Yahoo! ® Mail, short messageservice (SMS), or multimedia message service (MMS), for example Yahoo!Messenger®, including via a network, such as a social network,including, for example, Tumblr®, Facebook®, LinkedIn®, Twitter®,Flickr®, or Google+®, Instagram™, to provide only a few possibleexamples. A client device may also include or execute an application tocommunicate content, such as, for example, textual content, multimediacontent, or the like. A client device may also include or execute anapplication to perform a variety of possible tasks, such as browsing,searching, playing, streaming or displaying various forms of content,including locally stored or uploaded images and/or video, or games (suchas fantasy sports leagues). The foregoing is provided to illustrate thatclaimed subject matter is intended to include a wide range of possiblefeatures or capabilities.

The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.The disclosed systems and methods provide an improved, computerizedframework for automatically pairing and unpairing hardware devices thatare logged into the same network/online account.

By way of background, existing peer-to-peer (P2P) pairing solutions onlymaintain their credentials locally. Therefore, in order for such devicesto pair with another device, a number of locally entered steps need tobe performed, mostly by a user of such device, in order for such deviceto recognize and then connect with the other device.

The instant disclosure addresses these shortcomings, among others, byproviding an auto-pairing (and auto-unpairing) computerized frameworkthat enables devices to share credentials automatically by leveragingeach instance of devices being signed into a single online account.According to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, if multiplehardware devices (e.g. smartphones) are logged into the same onlineaccount (e.g. Yahoo! ® account), pairing one of the hardware devices toa peripheral device (e.g. SmartTV) allows all other hardware deviceslogged into the same authenticated account to be auto-paired to theperipheral device. Such auto-pairing enables any and/or all of a user'sdevices to be automatically paired without requiring the user or thedevices to explicitly go through the pairing process. Additionally, bynot having to enter a password or a PIN each time devices are to bepaired, which in the field of art is viewed as a point of failure orweakness, the time for pairing (and unpairing) is significantly reduced.

An added benefit to the disclosed systems and methods involves thecapability to unpair devices more easily, as any pairs associated with aprofile can be removed en-masse or individually, without requiringphysical access to the device (in the case of theft of a device, forexample). This not only improves flexibility of how pairing of devicescan be enacted and revoked, but also adds a layer of security notpresent in today's device pairing and information sharing field. Theinstant disclosure's removal of the reliance on passwords and otherlocally stored and entered credentials in order to pair devices, as inconventional systems, though the auto-pairing systems and methodsdiscussed herein, provides a secure, hidden computerized scheme which isused to control or manage how multiple devices interact with peripheraldevices. The disclosed, computerized mechanisms for pairing areperformed in accordance with active account credentials (e.g., thedevices are logged in to an account) by leveraging the dependence on athird party source (e.g., Yahoo! ® account or cloud server), whichevidences increased accuracy, reliability and security for the paireddevices and the information housed and shared on those paired devices.Thus, the disclosed systems and methods provide novel, secure andimproved mechanisms for establishing, controlling and managing P2Ppairing across multiple devices associated with (e.g., logged into) anonline account.

Certain embodiments will now be described in greater detail withreference to the figures. In general, with reference to FIG. 1, a system100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.FIG. 1 shows components of a general environment in which the systemsand methods discussed herein may be practiced. Not all the componentsmay be required to practice the disclosure, and variations in thearrangement and type of the components may be made without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure. As shown, system 100 of FIG.1 includes local area networks (“LANs”)/wide area networks(“WANs”)—network 105, wireless network 110, mobile devices (clientdevices) 102-104 and client device 101. FIG. 1 additionally includes avariety of servers, such as content server 106, application (or “App”)server 108 and search server 120.

One embodiment of mobile devices 102-104 is described in more detailbelow. Generally, however, mobile devices 102-104 may include virtuallyany portable computing device capable of receiving and sending a messageover a network, such as network 105, wireless network 110, or the like.Mobile devices 102-104 may also be described generally as client devicesthat are configured to be portable. Thus, mobile devices 102-104 mayinclude virtually any portable computing device capable of connecting toanother computing device and receiving information. Such devices includemulti-touch and portable devices such as, cellular telephones, smartphones, display pagers, radio frequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR)devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptopcomputers, wearable computers, smart watch, tablet computers, phablets,integrated devices combining one or more of the preceding devices, andthe like. As such, mobile devices 102-104 typically range widely interms of capabilities and features. For example, a cell phone may have anumeric keypad and a few lines of monochrome LCD display on which onlytext may be displayed. In another example, a web-enabled mobile devicemay have a touch sensitive screen, a stylus, and an HD display in whichboth text and graphics may be displayed.

A web-enabled mobile device may include a browser application that isconfigured to receive and to send web pages, web-based messages, and thelike. The browser application may be configured to receive and displaygraphics, text, multimedia, and the like, employing virtually any webbased language, including a wireless application protocol messages(WAP), and the like. In one embodiment, the browser application isenabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), WirelessMarkup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, Standard GeneralizedMarkup Language (SMGL), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML(DHTML), eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and the like, to display andsend a message.

Mobile devices 102-104 also may include at least one client applicationthat is configured to receive content from another computing device. Theclient application may include a capability to provide and receivetextual content, graphical content, audio content, and the like. Theclient application may further provide information that identifiesitself, including a type, capability, name, and the like. In oneembodiment, mobile devices 102-104 may uniquely identify themselvesthrough any of a variety of mechanisms, including a phone number, MobileIdentification Number (MIN), an electronic serial number (ESN), or othermobile device identifier.

In some embodiments, mobile devices 102-104 may also communicate withnon-mobile client devices, such as client device 101, or the like. Inone embodiment, such communications may include sending and/or receivingmessages, searching for, viewing and/or sharing photographs, audioclips, video clips, or any of a variety of other forms ofcommunications. Client device 101 may include virtually any computingdevice capable of communicating over a network to send and receiveinformation. The set of such devices may include devices that typicallyconnect using a wired or wireless communications medium such as personalcomputers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, or the like. Thus, client device 101may also have differing capabilities for displaying navigable views ofinformation.

Client devices 101-104 computing device may be capable of sending orreceiving signals, such as via a wired or wireless network, or may becapable of processing or storing signals, such as in memory as physicalmemory states, and may, therefore, operate as a server. Thus, devicescapable of operating as a server may include, as examples, dedicatedrack-mounted servers, desktop computers, laptop computers, set topboxes, integrated devices combining various features, such as two ormore features of the foregoing devices, or the like.

Wireless network 110 is configured to couple mobile devices 102-104 andits components with network 105. Wireless network 110 may include any ofa variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alonead-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an infrastructure-orientedconnection for mobile devices 102-104. Such sub-networks may includemesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, and thelike.

Network 105 is configured to couple content server 106, applicationserver 108, or the like, with other computing devices, including, clientdevice 101, and through wireless network 110 to mobile devices 102-104.Network 105 is enabled to employ any form of computer readable media forcommunicating information from one electronic device to another. Also,network 105 can include the Internet in addition to local area networks(LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through auniversal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media,or any combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, includingthose based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts as alink between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another,and/or other computing devices.

Within the communications networks utilized or understood to beapplicable to the present disclosure, such networks will employ variousprotocols that are used for communication over the network. Signalpackets communicated via a network, such as a network of participatingdigital communication networks, may be compatible with or compliant withone or more protocols. Signaling formats or protocols employed mayinclude, for example, TCP/IP, UDP, QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connection),DECnet, NetBEUI, IPX, APPLETALK™, or the like. Versions of the InternetProtocol (IP) may include IPv4 or IPv6. The Internet refers to adecentralized global network of networks. The Internet includes localarea networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), wireless networks, orlong haul public networks that, for example, allow signal packets to becommunicated between LANs. Signal packets may be communicated betweennodes of a network, such as, for example, to one or more sites employinga local network address. A signal packet may, for example, becommunicated over the Internet from a user site via an access nodecoupled to the Internet. Likewise, a signal packet may be forwarded vianetwork nodes to a target site coupled to the network via a networkaccess node, for example. A signal packet communicated via the Internetmay, for example, be routed via a path of gateways, servers, etc. thatmay route the signal packet in accordance with a target address andavailability of a network path to the target address.

According to some embodiments, the present disclosure may also beutilized within or accessible to an electronic social networking site. Asocial network refers generally to an electronic network of individuals,such as, but not limited to, acquaintances, friends, family, colleagues,or co-workers, that are coupled via a communications network or via avariety of sub-networks. Potentially, additional relationships maysubsequently be formed as a result of social interaction via thecommunications network or sub-networks. In some embodiments, multi-modalcommunications may occur between members of the social network.Individuals within one or more social networks may interact orcommunication with other members of a social network via a variety ofdevices. Multi-modal communication technologies refers to a set oftechnologies that permit interoperable communication across multipledevices or platforms, such as cell phones, smart phones, tabletcomputing devices, phablets, personal computers, televisions, set-topboxes, SMS/MMS, email, instant messenger clients, forums, socialnetworking sites, or the like.

In some embodiments, the disclosed networks 110 and/or 105 may comprisea content distribution network(s). A “content delivery network” or“content distribution network” (CDN) generally refers to a distributedcontent delivery system that comprises a collection of computers orcomputing devices linked by a network or networks. A CDN may employsoftware, systems, protocols or techniques to facilitate variousservices, such as storage, caching, communication of content, orstreaming media or applications. A CDN may also enable an entity tooperate or manage another's site infrastructure, in whole or in part.

The content server 106 may include a device that includes aconfiguration to provide content via a network to another device. Acontent server 106 may, for example, host a site, service or anassociated application, such as a photo sharing site/service (e.g.,Tumblr®), an email platform or social networking site, a search platformor site, or a personal user site (such as a blog, vlog, online datingsite, and the like) and the like. A content server 106 may also host avariety of other sites, including, but not limited to business sites,educational sites, dictionary sites, encyclopedia sites, wikis,financial sites, government sites, and the like. Devices that mayoperate as content server 106 include personal computers desktopcomputers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, servers, and the like.

Content server 106 can further provide a variety of services thatinclude, but are not limited to, streaming and/or downloading mediaservices, search services, email services, photo services, web services,social networking services, news services, third-party services, audioservices, video services, instant messaging (IM) services, SMS services,MMS services, FTP services, voice over IP (VOIP) services, or the like.Such services, for example a mail application and/or email-platform, canbe provided via the application server 108, whereby a user is able toutilize such service upon the user being authenticated, verified oridentified by the service. Examples of content may include videos, text,audio, images, or the like, which may be processed in the form ofphysical signals, such as electrical signals, for example, or may bestored in memory, as physical states, for example.

Servers 106, 108 and 120 may be capable of sending or receiving signals,such as via a wired or wireless network, or may be capable of processingor storing signals, such as in memory as physical memory states. Devicescapable of operating as a server may include, as examples, dedicatedrack-mounted servers, desktop computers, laptop computers, set topboxes, integrated devices combining various features, such as two ormore features of the foregoing devices, or the like. Servers may varywidely in configuration or capabilities, but generally, a server mayinclude one or more central processing units and memory. A server mayalso include one or more mass storage devices, one or more powersupplies, one or more wired or wireless network interfaces, one or moreinput/output interfaces, or one or more operating systems, such asWindows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, or the like.

In some embodiments, users are able to access services provided byservers 106, 108 and/or 120. This may include in a non-limiting example,authentication servers, search servers, email servers, social networkingservices servers, SMS servers, IM servers, MMS servers, exchangeservers, photo-sharing services servers, and travel services servers,via the network 105 using their various devices 101-104. In someembodiments, applications, such as a photo sharing/user-generatedcontent (UGC) application (e.g., Flickr®, Tumblr®, and the like), astreaming video application (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, iTunes®, AmazonPrime®, HBO Go®, and the like), blog, photo or social networkingapplication (e.g., Facebook®, Twitter® and the like), search application(e.g., Yahoo! ® Search), a mail or messaging application (e.g., Yahoo! ®Mail, Yahoo! ® Messenger), and the like, can be hosted by theapplication server 108 (or content server 106, search server 120 and thelike). Thus, the application server 108 can store various types ofapplications and application related information including applicationdata and user profile information (e.g., identifying and behavioralinformation associated with a user). It should also be understood thatcontent server 106 can also store various types of data related to thecontent and services provided by content server 106 in an associatedcontent database 107, as discussed in more detail below. Embodimentsexist where the network 105 is also coupled with/connected to a TrustedSearch Server (TSS) which can be utilized to render content inaccordance with the embodiments discussed herein. Embodiments existwhere the TSS functionality can be embodied within servers 106, 108and/or 120.

Moreover, although FIG. 1 illustrates servers 106, 108 and 120 as singlecomputing devices, respectively, the disclosure is not so limited. Forexample, one or more functions of servers 106, 108 and/or 120 may bedistributed across one or more distinct computing devices. Moreover, inone embodiment, servers 106, 108 and/or 120 may be integrated into asingle computing device, without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a client device showing anexample embodiment of a client device that may be used within thepresent disclosure. Client device 200 may include many more or lesscomponents than those shown in FIG. 2. However, the components shown aresufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for implementing thepresent disclosure. Client device 200 may represent, for example, clientdevices discussed above in relation to FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, Client device 200 includes a processing unit(CPU) 222 in communication with a mass memory 230 via a bus 224. Clientdevice 200 also includes a power supply 226, one or more networkinterfaces 250, an audio interface 252, a display 254, a keypad 256, anilluminator 258, an input/output interface 260, a haptic interface 262,an optional global positioning systems (GPS) receiver 264 and acamera(s) or other optical, thermal or electromagnetic sensors 266.Device 200 can include one camera/sensor 266, or a plurality ofcameras/sensors 266, as understood by those of skill in the art. Thepositioning of the camera(s)/sensor(s) 266 on device 200 can change perdevice 200 model, per device 200 capabilities, and the like, or somecombination thereof.

Power supply 226 provides power to Client device 200. A rechargeable ornon-rechargeable battery may be used to provide power. The power mayalso be provided by an external power source, such as an AC adapter or apowered docking cradle that supplements and/or recharges a battery.

Client device 200 may optionally communicate with a base station (notshown), or directly with another computing device. Network interface 250includes circuitry for coupling Client device 200 to one or morenetworks, and is constructed for use with one or more communicationprotocols and technologies as discussed above. Network interface 250 issometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving device, or networkinterface card (NIC).

Audio interface 252 is arranged to produce and receive audio signalssuch as the sound of a human voice. For example, audio interface 252 maybe coupled to a speaker and microphone (not shown) to enabletelecommunication with others and/or generate an audio acknowledgementfor some action. Display 254 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gasplasma, light emitting diode (LED), or any other type of display usedwith a computing device. Display 254 may also include a touch sensitivescreen arranged to receive input from an object such as a stylus or adigit from a human hand.

Keypad 256 may comprise any input device arranged to receive input froma user. For example, keypad 256 may include a push button numeric dial,or a keyboard. Keypad 256 may also include command buttons that areassociated with selecting and sending images. Illuminator 258 mayprovide a status indication and/or provide light. Illuminator 258 mayremain active for specific periods of time or in response to events. Forexample, when illuminator 258 is active, it may backlight the buttons onkeypad 256 and stay on while the client device is powered. Also,illuminator 258 may backlight these buttons in various patterns whenparticular actions are performed, such as dialing another client device.Illuminator 258 may also cause light sources positioned within atransparent or translucent case of the client device to illuminate inresponse to actions.

Client device 200 also comprises input/output interface 260 forcommunicating with external devices, such as a headset, or other inputor output devices not shown in FIG. 2. Input/output interface 260 canutilize one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared,Bluetooth™, or the like. Haptic interface 262 is arranged to providetactile feedback to a user of the client device. For example, the hapticinterface may be employed to vibrate client device 200 in a particularway when the Client device 200 receives a communication from anotheruser.

Optional GPS transceiver 264 can determine the physical coordinates ofClient device 200 on the surface of the Earth, which typically outputs alocation as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 264 can alsoemploy other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to,triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or thelike, to further determine the physical location of Client device 200 onthe surface of the Earth. It is understood that under differentconditions, GPS transceiver 264 can determine a physical location withinmillimeters for Client device 200; and in other cases, the determinedphysical location may be less precise, such as within a meter orsignificantly greater distances. In one embodiment, however, Clientdevice may through other components, provide other information that maybe employed to determine a physical location of the device, includingfor example, a MAC address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, or the like.

Mass memory 230 includes a RAM 232, a ROM 234, and other storage means.Mass memory 230 illustrates another example of computer storage mediafor storage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Mass memory 230 stores abasic input/output system (“BIOS”) 240 for controlling low-leveloperation of Client device 200. The mass memory also stores an operatingsystem 241 for controlling the operation of Client device 200. It willbe appreciated that this component may include a general purposeoperating system such as a version of UNIX, or LINUX™, or a specializedclient communication operating system such as Windows Client™, or theSymbian® operating system. The operating system may include, orinterface with a Java virtual machine module that enables control ofhardware components and/or operating system operations via Javaapplication programs.

Memory 230 further includes one or more data stores, which can beutilized by Client device 200 to store, among other things, applications242 and/or other data. For example, data stores may be employed to storeinformation that describes various capabilities of Client device 200.The information may then be provided to another device based on any of avariety of events, including being sent as part of a header during acommunication, sent upon request, or the like. At least a portion of thecapability information may also be stored on a disk drive or otherstorage medium (not shown) within Client device 200.

Applications 242 may include computer executable instructions which,when executed by Client device 200, transmit, receive, and/or otherwiseprocess audio, video, images, and enable telecommunication with a serverand/or another user of another client device. Other examples ofapplication programs or “apps” in some embodiments include browsers,calendars, contact managers, task managers, transcoders, photomanagement, database programs, word processing programs, securityapplications, spreadsheet programs, games, search programs, and soforth. Applications 242 may further include search client 245 that isconfigured to send, to receive, and/or to otherwise process a searchquery and/or search result using any known or to be known communicationprotocols. Although a single search client 245 is illustrated it shouldbe clear that multiple search clients may be employed. For example, onesearch client may be configured to enter a search query message, whereanother search client manages search results, and yet another searchclient is configured to manage serving digital content or other forms ofdigital data associated with, but not limited to, IMs, emails, and othertypes of known messages, or the like.

Having described the components of the general architecture employedwithin the disclosed systems and methods, the components' generaloperation with respect to the disclosed systems and methods will now bedescribed below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the components for performing thesystems and methods discussed herein. FIG. 3 includes a device pairingengine 300, network 315 and database 320. The device pairing engine 300can be a special purpose machine or processor and could be hosted by anapplication server, content server, social networking server, webserver, search server, content provider, email service provider, adserver, user's computing device, and the like, or any combinationthereof.

According to some embodiments, device pairing engine 300 can be embodiedas a stand-alone application that executes on a user device. In someembodiments, the device pairing engine 300 can function as anapplication installed on the user's device, and in some embodiments,such application can be a web-based application accessed by the userdevice over a network. In some embodiments, the device pairing engine300 can be installed as an augmenting script, program or application toanother media and/or content hosting/serving application, such as, forexample, Yahoo! ® Search, Yahoo! ® Mail, Flickr®, Tumblr®, Twitter®,Instagram®, SnapChat®, Facebook®, Amazon®, YouTube®, AppleTV® and thelike.

The database 320 can be any type of database or memory, and can beassociated with a content server on a network (e.g., content server 106,search server 120 or application server 108 from FIG. 1) or a user'sdevice (e.g., device 101-104 or device 200 from FIGS. 1-2). Database 320can comprise, for example, a dataset of content items (e.g., videofiles, multimedia files, images and the like), device data andassociated metadata, and user data and associated user metadata. Suchinformation can be stored in the database 320 independently and/or as alinked or associated dataset. It should be understood that the data (andmetadata) in the database 320 can be any type of content, user, deviceor network information and type, whether known or to be known, withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

Database 320 comprises a dataset of data and metadata associated withlocal and/or network information related to users, devices, services,applications, user-generated content, third party provided content andthe like. Such information can be stored and indexed in the database 320independently and/or as a linked or associated dataset. As discussedabove, it should be understood that the data (and metadata) in thedatabase 320 can be any type of information and type, whether known orto be known, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

According to some embodiments, database 320 can store data for users,i.e., user data. According to some embodiments, the stored user data caninclude, but is not limited to, information associated with a user'sprofile, user interests, user behavioral information, user attributes,user preferences or settings, user demographic information, userlocation information, user biographic information, and the like, or somecombination thereof.

According to some embodiments, the user data can also include deviceinformation including, but not limited to, device identifyinginformation, device capability information, voice/data carrierinformation, Internet Protocol (IP) address, applications installed orcapable of being installed or executed on such device, and/or any, orsome combination thereof. It should be understood that the data (andmetadata) in the database 320 can be any type of information related toa user, content, a device, an application, a service provider, a contentprovider, whether known or to be known, without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure.

According to some embodiments, database 320 can comprise informationassociated with content providers, such as, but not limited to, contentgenerating and hosting sites or providers that enable users to searchfor, upload, download, share, edit or otherwise avail users to contentor networked services (e.g., Yahoo! ® Search, Yahoo! ® Mobileapplications, Yahoo! ® Mail, Flickr®, Tumblr®, Twitter®, Instagram®,SnapChat®, Facebook®, Amazon®, YouTube®, and the like). In someembodiments, database 320 can comprise data and metadata associated withsuch content information from one and/or an assortment of media hostingsites. In some embodiments, such content provider information caninclude, but is not limited to, versions, types and/or capabilities ofapplications that are resident or accessed by a user device, and/or arecapable of being downloaded, executed, accessed or run on user devicefor purposes of rendering content or accessing a network service.

In some embodiments, the information stored in database 320 can berepresented as an n-dimensional vector (or feature vector) for eachstored data/metadata item, where the information associated with, forexample, the stored data and/or metadata can correspond to a node(s) onthe vector. As such, database 320 can store and index stored informationin database 320 as linked set of data and metadata, where the data andmetadata relationship can be stored as the n-dimensional vectordiscussed above. Such storage can be realized through any known or to beknown vector or array storage, including but not limited to, a hashtree, queue, stack, VList, or any other type of known or to be knowndynamic memory allocation technique or technology. While the discussionof some embodiments involves vector analysis of stored information, asdiscussed above, the information can be analyzed, stored and indexedaccording to any known or to be known computational analysis techniqueor algorithm, such as, but not limited to, word2vec analysis, clusteranalysis, data mining, Bayesian network analysis, Hidden Markov models,artificial neural network analysis, logical model and/or tree analysis,and the like.

In some embodiments, database 320 can be a single database housinginformation associated with one or more devices, users, services and/orcontent providers, and in some embodiments, database 320 can beconfigured as a linked set of data stores that provides suchinformation, as each datastore in the set is associated with and/orunique to a specific user, device, service and/or content provider.

As discussed above, with reference to FIG. 1, the network 315 can be anytype of network such as, but not limited to, a wireless network, a localarea network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, or acombination thereof. The network 315 facilitates connectivity of thedevice pairing engine 300, and the database of stored resources 320.Indeed, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the device pairing engine 300 anddatabase 320 can be directly connected by any known or to be knownmethod of connecting and/or enabling communication between such devicesand resources.

The principal processor, server, or combination of devices thatcomprises hardware programmed in accordance with the special purposefunctions herein is referred to for convenience as device pairing engine300, and includes login module 302, authentication module 304, storagemodule 306 and pairing module 308. It should be understood that theengine(s) and modules discussed herein are non-exhaustive, as additionalor fewer engines and/or modules (or sub-modules) may be applicable tothe embodiments of the systems and methods discussed. The operations,configurations and functionalities of each module, and their role withinembodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed below.

Turning to FIG. 4, Process 400 details steps performed in accordancewith some embodiments for automatically pairing and unpairing hardwaredevices that are logged into a user's account. For example, according tosome embodiments as discussed herein, if two smartphones are logged intothe same online account (e.g. Yahoo! ® account), pairing one of thesmartphones to a peripheral device (e.g. SmartTV or smart watch) allowsthe other smartphone to be auto-paired to the peripheral device. Suchauto-pairing enables any and/or all of a user's devices to beautomatically paired without requiring the user or the devices toexplicitly go through the pairing process.

For purposes of simplicity in disclosure, the discussion herein willinvolve communication of information between devices and pairing of suchdevices occurring at or within a location, and such location can be aroom, house, building, vehicle, train car, airplane cabin, office,devices being worn and/or carried by a person, and the like. However,while the discussion herein will focus on devices at a single location(e.g., a user's home), it should not be construed as a limiting, asexpansion of the location to outside such location, or even around theworld (e.g., within a city, town, country, hemisphere, and the like)will be understood by those of skill in the art as not limiting thescope and applicability of the disclosed systems and methods.

As discussed in more detail below, Steps 402 and 408 of Process 400 areperformed by the login module 302 of the device pairing engine 300; Step404 is performed by the pairing module 308; Step 406 is performed by thestorage module 306; Step 418 is performed by the pairing module 308 andthe storage module 306; and Steps 410-416 are performed by theauthentication module 304.

Process 400 begins with Step 402 where a user of a device, for example amobile device as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, logins into an online account(e.g., Yahoo! ®) from the device. As understood by those of skill in theart, such login process can involve the user being prompted to enterlogin credentials upon, for example, opening an application associatedwith the account, loading the web page associated with the account, orany other known or to be known methodology for accessing resourcesassociated with a secure networked account. These credentials areassociated with an account identifier—for example, a Yahoo! ID (or YID)which is stored on a network server (e.g., a cloud server).

For purposes of this disclosure, differing devices will be referred toas a “first” device, “second” device, and so on; however it should notbe construed as limiting as to the number of devices, or the order ofsuch devices within Process 400, as the numerical characterization ofsuch devices is simply used to differentiate the devices being usedwithin Process 400. Therefore, the device logged into during Step 402will be referred to as the “first” device.

Upon logging into the account, the first device is paired to aperipheral device. Step 404. In some embodiments, Step 404 can involvethe device pairing engine 300 determining a location of the first deviceand scanning the location according to a threshold distance to identifyperipheral devices within a distance threshold satisfying range. Forexample, if the first device is a mobile phone and the user logs intohis Yahoo! ® account upon entering his house, the engine 300 candetermine that there is a peripheral device—a SmartTV—located in thesame room. Such determination and pairing can be performed using anyknown or to be known pairing technology, such as, but not limited to,Bluetooth®, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals, WiFi®, infrared, NearField Communication (NFC) technology, and the like. Thus, in someembodiments Step 404 involves the set up and linkage between the firstdevice and the peripheral device thereby allowing electroniccommunication between them.

According to some embodiments, Step 404 involves the first devicetransmitting the universally unique identifier (UUID) associated withthe first device to the peripheral device. In response to receiving thefirst device's UUID, the peripheral device begins authentication inorder to ensure that the first device is within proximity (at athreshold value) of the peripheral. In some embodiments, suchauthentication can involve performing any known or to be knownauthentication and/or key-exchange algorithm, technology or technique.For example, Step 404 can involve, according to some embodiments,implementing secure remote password protocol (SRP) or any other know orto be known password-authenticated key agreement (PAKE) protocol. Insome embodiments, SRP or PAKE protocols may send a request to the firstdevice asking the user to enter his/her PIN which authenticates the user(e.g., such PIN can be the PIN for gaining access to the first device oranother PIN established for accessing the account). In combination or inthe alternative to a PIN, according to some embodiments, the request mayask the user to enter biometric information or any other type ofinformation to authenticate the user on the first device.

In response to the first device being approved via SRP protocol, asdiscussed above, the first device is paired with the peripheral device.Such pairing, as understood by those of skill in the art, involves thefirst device receiving from the peripheral device random data (e.g., ahash of a passcode or passphrase) and a key for unlocking the randomdata (referred to as “Salt” or “Salt data”, in interchangeably, and “B”,respectively). Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the device sends arequest including its UUID to the peripheral device and in response toperforming SRP, the peripheral device sends back Salt and B data, wherethe first device uses the key to unlock the Salt, as per SRP protocol,thereby pairing the two devices.

In Step 406, upon the first device and peripheral device being paired inStep 404, the UUID of the first device is stored in a database inassociation with the user's account (e.g., in a profile or lookup table(LUT) associated with the user's profile). In some embodiments, thedatabase is associated with the service providing the account—forexample, a database associated with a cloud server for the service(e.g., Yahoo! ® Cloud server). In some embodiments, the B and Salt forthe first device are also stored in the database in a similar manner, asdiscussed in more detail below and illustrated in FIGS. 6-8.

In Step 408, a second device logs into the account. In some embodiments,Step 408 can be performed in concert with Step 402—for example, Step 402can involve logging in multiple devices associated with the user to anetwork service account. Step 408 can be performed in a similar manneras discussed above in relation to Step 402.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, after the first device (“Device1” in FIG. 6) is logged in and paired with the peripheral device(“Connected TV”), and the UUID of the first device is stored in thedatabase (e.g., stored in association with the ID of the user (YID) inthe user model housed on the “Y! Cloud”), as in Steps 402-406 discussedabove, the second device (“Device 2”) is logged in and paired in asimilar manner. Device 2 sends its UUID (referred to as “UUID 2” in FIG.6) to the peripheral device (“Connected TV”), and in response anotherversion of the B and Salt (“B2” and “Salt 2”) are generated uponperformance of SRP, thereby pairing Device 2 with the peripheral device.The storage of the UUID, B and Salt for the second device is discussedin more detail below in relation to FIG. 7.

In embodiments where Step 408 is separate from Step 402, or evenoccurring in concert with Step 402, Process 400 proceeds next to Step410. In Step 410, upon the second device logging into the account, or insome embodiments being detected as being logged into the account uponthe first device being paired, the stored UUID (from Step 406) isretrieved. According to some embodiments, the retrieval of the UUID inthe account can be based on the identifier (ID) of the account—forexample, the Yahoo! ® ID (YID) of the user's Yahoo! ® account. In someembodiments, using a search or hash map to identify the UUID associatedwith the YID of the user, the UUID can be identified and retrieved. Forexample, since the second device is logged into the account, the ID ofthe user's account (e.g., YID) is used as a search term to identify theUUID(s) stored in association with the user, and upon identifying theUUID(s), it is retrieved and sent to the second device.

In Step 412, the second device sends an authentication requestcomprising information related to the retrieved UUID (or in someembodiments, a version of the retrieved UUID) to the peripheral devicethereby requesting pairing with the peripheral device. Upon receivingthe request, which involves parsing the request to determine if anauthenticated UUID is present within the request, the peripheral deviceresponds with an encrypted payload that includes Salt and random keydata. Step 414. In some embodiments, this Salt and random key data aredifferent from that provided to the first device, and in someembodiments, the data is the same. As discussed above and in more detailbelow, this Salt and random key data is used to pair the second deviceto the peripheral.

In some embodiments, the payload can be encrypted according any known orto be known encryption technology or protocol, such as, for example, SRPor PAKE, as discussed above, or in some embodiments, a standard 128/256bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm, approved by the NIST(National Institute of Standards and Technology), and uses bothSymmetric and Asymmetric encryption/decryption keys.

In Step 416, a decryption key is generated for the second device inorder to decrypt the payload using the Salt and random key data. In someembodiments, as understood by those of skill in the art, the decryptionkey is associated with and/or generated from the random key data (e.g.,“B”, as discussed above), in order to decrypt the Salt, which enablespairing. Thus, as in Step 418, the second device is automatically pairedusing the generated decryption key. As a result of the pairing, the UUIDof the second device, and in some embodiments, the Salt and random keydata sent to the second device, are also stored in the cloud database,in a similar manner as discussed above.

In some embodiments, Steps 410-418 can be performed automatically uponthe logging in or detection of the second device at the location (orwithin the proximity of the peripheral device). Therefore, in someembodiments, upon the first device pairing with the peripheral, as inSteps 402-406, and upon the second device logging in, or in someembodiments, being detected as already being logged in after the firstdevice pairs with the peripheral, Steps 410-418 are automaticallyperformed for the second device, thereby enabling the second device tobe also paired with the peripheral automatically.

In some embodiments, upon a third device logging into the account, ordetection of a third device already being logged into the account, thethird device can be automatically paired with the peripheral accordingto the Steps 410-418, as discussed above. Any number of devices can bepaired according to the Steps 402-418, and more specifically, Steps410-418. Thus, after a first device is paired, upon subsequent devicesbeing authenticated (e.g., via the Salt and random data key providedfrom SRP being performed by the peripheral, as needed), or determined tobe already authenticated (e.g., determined that a UUID for thesubsequent device(s) is already stored in the cloud), such devices canbe automatically paired with the peripheral.

Non-limiting embodiments of pairing devices with a peripheral accordingto Process 400 discussed above are discussed in more detail in relationto FIGS. 6-8.

FIG. 6, as briefly discussed above, involves the authentication andpairing of two devices to a peripheral: Device 1 and Device 2, andConnected TV, respectively. In accordance with the discussion of FIG. 5,as discussed above, Device 1 has already been authenticated (orregistered) and paired, and the UUID, Salt and B for Device 1 have beenstored in the cloud database. Storage of UUID1, B1 and Salt 1, asdiscussed above, can be within a LUT(s) hosted by the cloud, where theB1 and Salt 1 are stored in association with the UUID1, which in itselfis stored in association with the YID of the user. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 6, the Y! Cloud stores in the user model LUT theUUID1 in association with the user's YID, and in the service model LUTstored in the cloud (which is associated with the user model LUT), theB1 and Salt 1 are stored in association with the UUID1.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 and discussed above, Device 2 performs theauthentication steps discussed above in relation to Steps 410-418.Device 2 sends UUID2 to the peripheral device (“Connected TV”), and inresponse, “B2” and “Salt 2” are generated upon performance of SRP,thereby registering Device 2 with the peripheral device. In someembodiments, as discussed above, the UUID2 sent from Device 2 is theUUID associated with Device 1 that was stored and subsequently retrieved(Steps 406 and 410-412).

As illustrated in FIG. 7, UUID2, B2 and Salt2 for Device 2 are nowstored in the cloud database. For example, the user, under his/heraccount, has two UUIDs stored in association with his/her YID in theuser model LUT: UUID1 and UUID2; and in the associated service modelLUTs, under UUID the B1 and Salt1 are stored, and under UUID2 the B2 andSalt 2 are stored. Using these UUIDs, the respective devices canautomatically pair with the peripheral as discussed above in relation toProcess 400. For example, upon Device 2 being detected as being withinproximity to the peripheral device (Connected TV), the UUID2 of Device 2is confirmed in the database, and the B2 and Salt2 are sent to theDevice 2 for automatic pairing.

As discussed above, according to some embodiments, if the account owner(e.g., the user) revokes the authorization of the second device, forexample, the UUID of the second device (and the Salt and random key dataassociated with the second device) is removed from the account, and inorder for the second device to pair with the peripheral device, it mustbe authenticated again according to Steps 410-418. Thus, as illustratedin FIG. 8, Device 2, for example, has its automatic pairing capabilitieswith the peripheral device revoked; therefore its UUID2 is deleted fromthe cloud database (e.g., as indicated by the UUID2 being“strikethrough” from the user model and service model). Such revocationcan be performed by the user, on any device that is logged into theaccount, by an administrator, after a predetermined period of time,after devices are no longer within a proximity threshold to theperipheral, and the like, or some combination thereof. Therefore, inorder for Device 2 to auto-pair with the peripheral TV again, it mustperform Steps 410-418 again.

Thus, in accordance with the above discussion related to FIGS. 4-8, thedisclosed systems and method provide the novel capability for deviceslogged into a central account to automatically pair with peripheralswithout having to go through a full, iterative and sometimes manualpairing process. This creates a new and improved way of accomplishingsecure P2P pairing across multiple devices attached to a single account,and extends pairing functionality to provide a more seamless userexperience.

As shown in FIG. 9, internal architecture 900 of a computing device(s),computing system, computing platform and the like includes one or moreprocessing units, processors, or processing cores, (also referred toherein as CPUs) 912, which interface with at least one computer bus 902.Also interfacing with computer bus 902 are computer-readable medium, ormedia, 906, network interface 914, memory 904, e.g., random accessmemory (RAM), run-time transient memory, read only memory (ROM), mediadisk interface 908 and/or media disk drive interface 920 as an interfacefor a drive that can read and/or write to media including removablemedia such as floppy, CD-ROM, DVD, media, display interface 910 asinterface for a monitor or other display device, keyboard interface 916as interface for a keyboard, pointing device interface 918 as aninterface for a mouse or other pointing device, and miscellaneous otherinterfaces 922 not shown individually, such as parallel and serial portinterfaces and a universal serial bus (USB) interface.

Memory 904 interfaces with computer bus 902 so as to provide informationstored in memory 904 to CPU 912 during execution of software programssuch as an operating system, application programs, device drivers, andsoftware modules that comprise program code, and/or computer executableprocess steps, incorporating functionality described herein, e.g., oneor more of process flows described herein. CPU 912 first loads computerexecutable process steps from storage, e.g., memory 904, computerreadable storage medium/media 906, removable media drive, and/or otherstorage device. CPU 912 can then execute the stored process steps inorder to execute the loaded computer-executable process steps. Storeddata, e.g., data stored by a storage device, can be accessed by CPU 912during the execution of computer-executable process steps.

Persistent storage, e.g., medium/media 906, can be used to store anoperating system and one or more application programs. Persistentstorage can also be used to store device drivers, such as one or more ofa digital camera driver, monitor driver, printer driver, scanner driver,or other device drivers, web pages, content files, playlists and otherfiles. Persistent storage can further include program modules and datafiles used to implement one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure, e.g., listing selection module(s), targeting informationcollection module(s), and listing notification module(s), thefunctionality and use of which in the implementation of the presentdisclosure are discussed in detail herein.

Network link 928 typically provides information communication usingtransmission media through one or more networks to other devices thatuse or process the information. For example, network link 928 mayprovide a connection through local network 924 to a host computer 926 orto equipment operated by a Network or Internet Service Provider (ISP)930. ISP equipment in turn provides data communication services throughthe public, worldwide packet-switching communication network of networksnow commonly referred to as the Internet 932.

A computer called a server host 934 connected to the Internet 932 hostsa process that provides a service in response to information receivedover the Internet 932. For example, server host 934 hosts a process thatprovides information representing image and/or video data forpresentation at display 910. It is contemplated that the components ofsystem 900 can be deployed in various configurations within othercomputer systems, e.g., host and server.

At least some embodiments of the present disclosure are related to theuse of computer system 900 for implementing some or all of thetechniques described herein. According to one embodiment, thosetechniques are performed by computer system 900 in response toprocessing unit 912 executing one or more sequences of one or moreprocessor instructions contained in memory 904. Such instructions, alsocalled computer instructions, software and program code, may be readinto memory 904 from another computer-readable medium 906 such asstorage device or network link. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in memory 904 causes processing unit 912 toperform one or more of the method steps described herein. In alternativeembodiments, hardware, such as ASIC, may be used in place of or incombination with software. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosureare not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software,unless otherwise explicitly stated herein.

The signals transmitted over network link and other networks throughcommunications interface, carry information to and from computer system900. Computer system 900 can send and receive information, includingprogram code, through the networks, among others, through network linkand communications interface. In an example using the Internet, a serverhost transmits program code for a particular application, requested by amessage sent from computer, through Internet, ISP equipment, localnetwork and communications interface. The received code may be executedby processor 902 as it is received, or may be stored in memory 904 or instorage device or other non-volatile storage for later execution, orboth.

For the purposes of this disclosure a module is a software, hardware, orfirmware (or combinations thereof) system, process or functionality, orcomponent thereof, that performs or facilitates the processes, features,and/or functions described herein (with or without human interaction oraugmentation). A module can include sub-modules. Software components ofa module may be stored on a computer readable medium for execution by aprocessor. Modules may be integral to one or more servers, or be loadedand executed by one or more servers. One or more modules may be groupedinto an engine or an application.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “user”, “subscriber”“consumer” or “customer” should be understood to refer to a user of anapplication or applications as described herein and/or a consumer ofdata supplied by a data provider. By way of example, and not limitation,the term “user” or “subscriber” can refer to a person who receives dataprovided by the data or service provider over the Internet in a browsersession, or can refer to an automated software application whichreceives the data and stores or processes the data.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and systems ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in many manners and as suchare not to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments andexamples. In other words, functional elements being performed by singleor multiple components, in various combinations of hardware and softwareor firmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among softwareapplications at either the client level or server level or both. In thisregard, any number of the features of the different embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments,and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of thefeatures described herein are possible.

Functionality may also be, in whole or in part, distributed amongmultiple components, in manners now known or to become known. Thus,myriad software/hardware/firmware combinations are possible in achievingthe functions, features, interfaces and preferences described herein.Moreover, the scope of the present disclosure covers conventionallyknown manners for carrying out the described features and functions andinterfaces, as well as those variations and modifications that may bemade to the hardware or software or firmware components described hereinas would be understood by those skilled in the art now and hereafter.

Furthermore, the embodiments of methods presented and described asflowcharts in this disclosure are provided by way of example in order toprovide a more complete understanding of the technology. The disclosedmethods are not limited to the operations and logical flow presentedherein. Alternative embodiments are contemplated in which the order ofthe various operations is altered and in which sub-operations describedas being part of a larger operation are performed independently.

While various embodiments have been described for purposes of thisdisclosure, such embodiments should not be deemed to limit the teachingof this disclosure to those embodiments. Various changes andmodifications may be made to the elements and operations described aboveto obtain a result that remains within the scope of the systems andprocesses described in this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a computingdevice, login credentials for a user account from a first device;logging, via the computing device, the first device into the useraccount based on the login credentials; pairing, via the computingdevice, the first device with a peripheral device based on said firstdevice being logged into said user account; receiving, at the computingdevice, said login credentials for the user account from the seconddevice; logging, via the computing device, the second device into saiduser account based on the login credentials; determining, via thecomputing device, that said second device and the first device arelogged into the same user account; automatically pairing, via thecomputing device, said second device to said peripheral device based onsaid determination; receiving, at the computing device, a request fromthe first device to log out of the user account; and unpairing, via thecomputing device, said second device from said peripheral device basedon said request from the first device.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: unpairing said first device from said peripheral devicebased on said request from the first device.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a request from the second device to logout of the user account; and unpairing said second device from saidperipheral device based on said request from said second device.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a login request from athird device to login to said user account; logging in said third deviceto said user account based on said request; and automatically pairingsaid third device to the peripheral device based on said third devicebeing logged in to said user account and said first device already beinglogged in to the user account and paired with the peripheral device. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to revokepairing capabilities of the second device; and unpairing said seconddevice from said peripheral device.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinsaid request to revoke pairing capabilities is automatically generatedbased on information selected from a group consisting of: a time period,request from a user, a distance between the second device and theperipheral device, and a distance of the second device to a locationassociated with the peripheral device.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid pairing of said first device comprises: receiving a universallyunique identifier (UUID) of the first device; communicating Salt dataand a key for unlocking the Salt data to the first device, wherein saidpairing is based on said first device unlocking said Salt data.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein said second device is paired with saidperipheral device based on the UUID, Salt data and said key.
 9. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded withcomputer-executable instructions, such that when a computing deviceexecutes the instructions, a method is performed comprising: receiving,at the computing device, login credentials for a user account from afirst device; logging, via the computing device, the first device intothe user account based on the login credentials; pairing, via thecomputing device, the first device with a peripheral device based onsaid first device being logged into said user account; receiving, at thecomputing device, said login credentials for the user account from thesecond device; logging, via the computing device, the second device intosaid user account based on the login credentials; determining, via thecomputing device, that said second device and the first device arelogged into the same user account; automatically pairing, via thecomputing device, said second device to said peripheral device based onsaid determination; receiving, at the computing device, a request fromthe first device to log out of the user account; and unpairing, via thecomputing device, said second device from said peripheral device basedon said request from the first device.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising:unpairing said first device from said peripheral device based on saidrequest from the first device.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 9, further comprising: receiving a request fromthe second device to log out of the user account; and unpairing saidsecond device from said peripheral device based on said request fromsaid second device.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 9, wherein said pairing of said first device comprises:receiving a universally unique identifier (UUID) of the first device;communicating Salt data and a key for unlocking the Salt data to thefirst device, wherein said pairing is based on said first deviceunlocking said Salt data.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 12, wherein said second device is paired withsaid peripheral device based on the UUID, Salt data and said key.
 14. Acomputing device comprising: a processor; and a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium for tangibly storing thereon programlogic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising:logic executed by the processor for receiving, at the computing device,login credentials for a user account from a first device; logic executedby the processor for logging, via the computing device, the first deviceinto the user account based on the login credentials; logic executed bythe processor for pairing, via the computing device, the first devicewith a peripheral device based on said first device being logged intosaid user account; logic executed by the processor for receiving, at thecomputing device, said login credentials for the user account from thesecond device; logic executed by the processor for logging, via thecomputing device, the second device into said user account based on thelogin credentials; logic executed by the processor for determining, viathe computing device, that said second device and the first device arelogged into the same user account; logic executed by the processor forautomatically pairing, via the computing device, said second device tosaid peripheral device based on said determination; logic executed bythe processor for receiving, at the computing device, a request from thefirst device to log out of the user account; and logic executed by theprocessor for unpairing, via the computing device, said second devicefrom said peripheral device based on said request from the first device.15. The computing device of claim 14, further comprising: logic executedby the processor for unpairing said first device from said peripheraldevice based on said request from the first device.
 16. The computingdevice of claim 14, further comprising: logic executed by the processorfor receiving a request from the second device to log out of the useraccount; and logic executed by the processor for unpairing said seconddevice from said peripheral device based on said request from saidsecond device.
 17. The computing device of claim 14, further comprising:logic executed by the processor for receiving a request from the firstdevice to log out of the user account; logic executed by the processorfor unpairing said first device from said peripheral device based onsaid request from the first device; and unpairing said second devicefrom said peripheral device based on said request from the first device.